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jHemortal  Mortis 


MEMORIAL  WORDS 


Spoken  by  his  Pastor,  the  Reverend  Joseph  A.  Milburn,  Plymouth 
Congregational  Church,  Chicago,  111.,  April  9th,  1909. 


Among  the  mitigations  of  the  deep  sorrow 
incident  to  death,  there  is  none  so  immediate 
and  so  assuaging  as  the  consciousness  that  the 
one  we  have  loved,  and  who  has  gone  forth  to 
larger  worlds,  has  lived  a  true  and  worthy  life. 
This  consolation  is  the  portion  of  everyone 
who  loved  Mr.  Cushing.  He  has  lived  many 
years  in  our  midst,  he  has  fulfilled  his  part  in 
the  business  world,  in  his  social  environment, 
in  the  church,  and  in  the  home,  and  in  all  these 
various  relations  of  life  he  has  revealed  a  rare 
manhood  and  nobility  of  character. 

It  is  a  difficult  thing  to  measure  the  power, 
the  prowess,  and  the  moral  significance  of  a 
human  life.  Personality  is  elusive.  Man  is 
always  more  than  the  sum  of  his  qualities,  and 
the  greatest  and  best  things  about  him  are 
mysteries  that  will  not  go  into  a  formula. 
And  so  all  that  we  can  do  at  such  a  moment 
as  this  is  to  isolate  certain  characteristics, 
certain  elements  and  factors  of  worth  in  the 
one  we  love,  and  dwell  upon  them  with  affec- 
tionate memory. 

[5] 


The  first  thing  that  impressed  me  in  Mr. 
Cushing,  and  that  impression  has  been  con- 
firmed again  and  again  through  the  years  of  my 
knowledge  of  him,  was  the  note  of  sincerity  in 
his  character.  He  was  a  man  of  undiminished 
integrity  and  honesty.  His  every  word  was 
valid.  His  way  was  one  of  perfect  straightfor- 
wardness and  openness.  It  was  impossible  to 
think  of  anything  subterranean  or  furtive  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Cushing.  The  very 
thought  of  him  was  inevitably  associated  with 
the  thought  of  honor,  truth  and  fair  dealing. 

Again,  Mr.  Cushing  was  a  man  of  an 
exceptionally  well  vertebrated  conscience — a 
conscience  of  a  type  that  is  fast  passing  away 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  His  moral  struc- 
ture was  one  not  at  all  familiar  to  me  through 
personal  experience,  because  my  own  con- 
ception of  life  was  in  some  respects  quite 
different  from  his.  My  conception  of  life  has 
for  its  constituent  elements,  in  a  very  large 
measure,  the  motives  of  joy  and  of  radiancy, 
and  of  self-expression  and  self-fulfillment 
through  the  pleasures  and  the  delights  of  the 
day  and  the  hour.  With  Mr.  Cushing,  life  was 
at  every  moment  a  serious  thing.  He  was  a 
Puritan.    He  was  a  stoic.    In  his  moral  system 

[6] 


and  in  his  life,  pleasure  was  inexorably  sub- 
ordinated to  the  mandates  of  duty — "Duty, 
stern  daughter  of  the  voice  of  God."  He  never 
considered  his  own  ease  or  comfort  first,  but 
always  first  his  duty,  his  duty  to  his  business, 
the  church,  the  home,  the  world.  I  suppose 
deep  in  his  heart  he  carried  a  mild  contempt 
for  a  life  that  found  its  satisfactions  in  luxury, 
pleasure  seeking  and  indolence.  And  yet,  with 
all  this  austerity  of  moral  temperament,  our 
dear  and  true  friend  was  most  considerate  and 
thoughtful  of  others.  Deep  underneath  the 
surface  of  his  rather  severe  manner,  there  beat  a 
heart  that  was  full  of  tenderness  and  rich  with 
love.  He  had  a  most  sensitive  social  imagina- 
tion. He  felt  with  and  for  others  in  their 
troubles,  their  burdens  and  their  sorrows.  He 
fulfilled  with  beautiful  literalness  Christ's 
injunction  to  visit  the  sick,  and  to  give  a  cup 
of  water  to  the  one  who  is  athirst.  And  he 
observed  no  social  lines  in  his  ministrations  to 
the  weak,  the  sick,  the  frail  and  the  dependent. 
Everyone  who  was  in  need  commanded  his 
time,  his  sympathy,  and  his  devotion. 

I  spoke  a  moment  ago  of  Mr.  Cushing's 
austerity,  and  yet  in  his  last  days  he  revealed  a 
note  of  sweet  dependency  in  his  manner  that 

[7] 


I  never  suspected,  and  that  was  altogether 
beautiful.  He  always  seemed  to  me  a  man 
almost  detached  from  the  lighter  emotions  and 
the  minor  affections  that  play  so  large  a  part 
in  the  life  of  the  average  man  or  woman.  He 
seemed  to  find  his  supreme  satisfaction  in  the 
consciousness  of  duty  done,  and  it  never 
occurred  to  me  that  there  was  a  craving  in  his 
heart  for  tender  words,  or  a  yearning  for 
manifested  love.  But  when  I  called  upon  him 
in  the  days  of  his  last  illness,  this  love-note 
that  lay  so  deep  in  his  heart  that  it  was  hidden 
from  observation,  came  forth  into  the  light  of 
day,  and  I  saw  in  him  not  only  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  stoic's  great  patience  to  bear  and 
to  endure,  but  also  the  temperament  of  the 
lover,  of  the  one  who  longs  for,  and  who  longs 
with  an  intense  passion,  for  reciprocity  of  affec- 
tion, and  for  uttered  devotion.  He  said  to  me 
one  day  when  very  near  the  end,  "Hold  my 
hand,  Oh,  hold  my  hand,"  and  as  he  spoke  there 
was  an  unutterable  pathos  in  his  voice  and  an 
infinite  hunger  of  love  in  his  eye. 

I  should  like  to  say  a  few  words  about  Mr. 
Cushing  in  his  relation  to  the  church,  for  that 
was  the  world  in  which  I  saw  most  of  him,  and 
in  which  I  knew  him  best,  and  to  know  him 

[8] 


there  was  to  honor  and  revere  him.  He  was 
a  born  church  man,  and  he  was  endowed  to  a 
very  rare  degree  with  the  ecclesiastical  talent — 
a  talent  that  we  find  not  often  largely 
developed  in  the  Protestant  church.  The 
Roman  Catholic  is  born  into  the  church.  The 
church  passion  is  cultivated  from  the  first 
moment  of  conscious  life  in  the  Catholic  child, 
and  is  an  integral  part  of  the  nature  and 
character  of  every  true  and  conscientious 
Roman  Catholic.  But  the  Protestants  I  have 
known,  with  a  few  exceptions,  seem  to  have 
been  deficient  in  this  beautiful  gift.  Mr. 
Cushing  was  one  of  these  exceptions.  The 
church  was  a  great  factor  in  his  life.  He  loved 
it,  he  prayed  for  it,  he  served  it,  he  lived  bravely 
and  manfully  in  the  light  it  shed  upon  him,  and 
he  died  sweetly  in  the  hope  of  immortality, 
which  is  the  greatest  and  rarest  gift  that  the 
church  of  Christ  confers  upon  its  own  elect. 
Mr.  Cushing  was  possessed  of  a  faith  of 
absolute  simplicity.  He  knew  nothing  of  the 
doubts  that  bewilder  and  perplex  so  many 
minds  and  hearts  in  these  latter  days.  He 
stood  firmly  and  securely  on  the  Word  of  God. 
It  was  his  norm  of  duty.  It  was  a  light  unto 
his  path  and  a  lamp  unto  his  feet.    It  was  his 

[9] 


supreme  and  ultimate  authority  in  things  of 
faith  and  practice.  He  believed  in  Jesus  Christ 
with  a  belief  that  knew  no  variableness  nor 
shadow  of  turning.  He  believed  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  divinity  without  the  slightest  diminu- 
tion of  doubt.  Christ  was  his  way,  his  truth, 
his  life,  his  Savior,  his  visible,  manifest  God. 
And  secure  in  his  belief,  perfectly  secure, 
modern  criticism  of  the  Bible  and  of  Christ  no 
more  moved  the  stability  of  his  faith  than  the 
buffeting  of  the  waves  of  the  sea  move  the  rock 
that  the  plastic  arms  of  the  sea  encircle.  His 
religion  to  him  was  a  reality  as  deep  as  his  life. 
It  was  interwoven  with  his  thought.  It  was 
interfused  with  the  blood  of  his  heart.  It 
was  not  a  garment  that  he  wore  about  him.  It 
was  not  a  veneer  to  conceal  crudities  and 
roughnesses  and  imperfections  slightly  beneath 
the  surface.  It  was  not  an  externality.  It  was 
not  a  mien.  It  was  not  a  deportment.  His  faith 
was  incorporate  with  his  very  soul.  It  was 
his  essence.  It  was  his  life.  It  was  the  hue, 
complexion  and  substance  of  his  personality. 
In  his  belief  he  was  conservative,  and  yet 
there  existed  in  him  a  combination  of  qualities 
hard  to  find  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
church,    the    combination   of   a   conservative, 

[10] 


retroactive  belief,  with  a  large  spirit  of  toler- 
ance. I  know  I  must  have  wounded  Mr. 
Gushing  again  and  again  in  my  utterances 
from  the  pulpit,  because  he  and  I  belonged  to 
two  different  schools  of  thought.  His  theology 
was  not  my  theology,  and  his  creed  was  not  my 
creed,  except  in  the  matter  of  essentials  and 
fundamentals,  and  there  we  were  wholly  and 
entirely  one.  And  yet  never  once  during  my 
ministrations  in  Plymouth  Church  did  he  ever 
come  to  me  with  a  criticism  upon  his  lips,  never 
once  did  he  challenge  my  right  to  utter  my 
personal  interpretation  of  the  truth  in  Christ 
as  I  behold  it. 

He  was  a  just  man,  just  as  all  sincere  men 
are  just.  He  insisted  upon  the  right  to  think 
for  himself.  He  insisted  upon  his  right  to 
determine  his  own  creed,  to  have  his  own  point 
of  view,  and  he  was  willing  to  concede  the  same 
right  to  others ;  and,  as  the  world  goes,  that  is 
very  rare  and  unusual,  also  very  noble  and 
beautiful. 

Mr.  Cushing  gave  with  a  large  and  liberal 
hand  to  the  church.  He  gave  with  princely 
lavishness  to  the  City  Missionary  enterprise  of 
the  Congregational  Church  of  Chicago.  And 
he  was  always  ready — more  than  ready — to 

[ii] 


bear  his  share  in  all  the  obligations  of 
Plymouth  Church,  which  through  so  many 
years  he  served  so  faithfully  and  loved  so 
devotedly.  Among  his  last  pathetic  words 
were  these,  "Tell  my  friends  that  I  have  done 
my  best  to  help  Plymouth  Church,  but  I  have 
made  many  mistakes — -many  mistakes."  And 
indeed  he  did  his  best  to  help  Plymouth 
Church,  and  his  help  has  been  and  is  appre- 
ciated, and  he  will  be  missed  in  Plymouth 
Church  very  greatly,  for  we  all  honor  him,  we 
all  love  him  here. 

Well,  his  work  is  done,  his  task  is  finished. 
He  has  fought  a  good  fight.  Let  us  not  regret 
that  he  has  gone.  He  has  reached  the  haven. 
He  has  attained  the  rest  that  he  has  been 
seeking  in  his  prayers,  and  in  his  faith  through 
all  these  years.  His  weary,  tired  body  has  gone 
back  to  the  earth,  and  what  a  blessed,  beautiful 
thing  it  is  that  these  bodies  of  ours,  when  they 
become  rebellious  and  inadequate,  can  go  back 
to  the  earth  again,  ashes  to  ashes,  and  dust  to 
dust.  Death  is  a  very  lovely  friend  of  the 
weary  and  the  tired.  His  body  sleeps,  to  be 
disturbed  no  more.  But  he,  the  Edward 
Gushing,  whom  we  all  esteemed  and  loved,  has 
gone  forth  to  greater  things.     He  has  come 

[12] 


through  the  mystery  of  death  into  the 
possession  of  that  patrimony  that  is  the  portion 
of  every  child  of  God.  He  has  come  into  the 
inheritance  of  the  children  of  the  Light.  His 
spirit,  clothed  in  a  body  ethereal,  luminous  and 
incorruptible,  is  now  expatiating  in  larger 
empires  and  more  glorious  spheres. 

"For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  cross't  the  bar." 

He  has  crossed  the  bar  and  he  has  seen  his 
Pilot  face  to  face. 


MEMORIAL  WORDS 


Spoken  by  His  Friend,  the  Reverend  Joseph  A.  Vance, 
April  9th,  1909. 

"John  14:  1-4 — Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled;  ye 
believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were  not  so  I  would 
have  told  you;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if 
I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again, 
and  receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there 
ye  may  be  also.  And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the 
way  ye  know." 

And  yet  when  Jesus  comes  for  us,  or  those 
we  love,  the  going  is  never  easy.  It  ought 
not  to  be 

"A  wrench 
To  leave  our  wooden  bench." 

We  ought 

"With  a  glad  shout 

Run  home  when  school  is  out," 

but  few  of  us  can  do  it. 

"  Tis  hard  to  part  when  friends  are  dear." 

But  we  must  not  forget  today  that  we  are 
Christians,  and  we  must  not  feel  nor  talk  to 
each  other  as  if  we  were  Pagans.  Our  friend 
has  passed  on  before  we  wanted  him  to  go. 
His  age  was  not  quite  full;  yet  God  has 
brought  him  to  the  end  in  peace,  and  he  has 
come  to  his  grave  in  a  ripe  manhood,  "like  as  a 
shock  of  corn  cometh  in,  in  his  season."    When 

[15] 


the  wheat  is  golden  for  the  harvest,  who  would 
not  put  in  the  sickle?  When  the  leaf  turns  red 
and  gold,  the  autumn  is  on,  and  it  is  the  hour 
to  sing  "Harvest  Home."  Our  arms  are  left 
empty,  but  the  one  we  love  drops  his  "out- 
grown shell  by  life's  unresting  sea,"  and  it  is  an 
hour  for  us  to  lose  our  sorrow  in  his  great  joy. 

Two  thoughts  are  uppermost  as  we  gather 
here  to  pay  a  tribute  of  love  to  our  dear  friend. 
The  winsome  things  in  life  are  very  different 
to  us  when  we  view  it  from  the  threshold 
of  youth  and  when  we  look  back  on  it  from  the 
days  of  ripening  age.  In  youth  time  we  are 
self-assertive  and  eager  for  admiration.  If  we 
covet  men's  esteem,  it  is  rather  that  they 
should  esteem  our  gifts  or  genius  than  that 
they  should  esteem  us.  But  at  the  other  end  of 
life  we  think  less  of  admiration,  and  crave  the 
love  of  men.  Some  men  seem  born  for  admira- 
tion. Their  proneness  to  the  spectacular 
begets  flattery  from  others,  which  in  turn 
begets  egotism  in  them;  and  these  men  come 
to  the  end  of  life  with  its  plans  and  deeds  lying 
in  ruins  about  them,  as  a  spoiled  child  is  sur- 
rounded by  its  broken  toys. 

But  other  men  seem  born  to  be  loved.  Life's 
struggles   for   them   may   not   bring   always 

[16] 


spectacular  successes,  but  they  grow  true 
friendships  all  along  life's  way,  and  loving 
ministrations  from  many  friends  make  old  age 
for  them  the  happiest  hours  of  earth  and  a  fore- 
taste of  heaven. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  a  man  of  this  latter  type. 
Gifted  in  many  ways,  with  rare  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart,  strong  and  assertive  for  what 
was  true  and  right,  he  was  so  thoroughly  kind 
and  courteous,  so  sane  in  judgment  and  so 
tender  in  sympathies,  that  men  could  not  help 
loving  him.  As  we  talk  about  it  today  we  are 
glad  that  he  knew  it  before  he  passed  on. 

The  other  thought  has  to  do  with  the 
ministry  of  pain  in  the  formation  of  our 
characters.  We  belong  to  a  generation  that 
seeks  to  ignore  its  pain.  We  try  to  persuade 
ourselves  it  is  not  there,  or  failing  this,  we  try 
to  hide  it  from  the  sight  of  our  fellow  men,  and 
let  it  have  no  influence  on  us.  But  suffering  is 
not  only  real,  it  is  to  be  made  a  ministering 
influence  from  God  Himself  in  the  formation 
of  our  characters.  There  are  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart,  and  these  among  the  finest  and 
divinest  which  the  human  can  develop,  which 
are  begotten  only  by  continuous  suffering,  sub- 
missively and  patiently  borne  as  a  touch  of  the 

[17] 


hand  of  God.  So  it  was  in  the  life  of  that  man 
long  ago  whose  bodily  ailment,  which  he  had 
to  carry  throughout  his  life,  became  for  him 
the  daily  hurt  of  "a  thorn  in  his  flesh,"  and  who 
of  us  can  doubt  that  much  of  what  we  love  so 
dearly  in  the  character  of  this  man  was  born 
of  the  ministry  of  pain  in  his  life  during 
the  past  twenty  years.  For  the  qualities 
thus  begotten  are  rare  and  do  not  come 
otherwise. 

Courtesy  and  consideration  for  others, 
kindness  and  tender  sympathy,  patience  and 
heroic  fortitude,  self  control  and  serious  pur- 
pose, unselfish  solicitude  for  others,  and  loving 
sacrifice  for  others,  we  cherish  these  as  some 
of  the  fine  qualities  of  this  dear  friend ;  but  he, 
like  the  Savior  whom  we  loved  and  trusted, 
became  perfect  by  what  he  suffered. 

We  are  glad  his  end  was  easy  and  peaceful. 
We  loved  him  dearly,  and  we  are  so  happy  that 
he  loved  us.  It  is  hard  to  let  him  slip  away; 
but  through  death's  doorway,  he  has  stepped 
into  the  great,  glad  life  beyond.  We  shall  bide 
awhile  in  our  places,  and  then  pass  on  to  meet 
him,  in  a  land  from  which  sorrow  and  sighing 
have  fled  away,  and  where  there  shall  be  no 
more  pain. 

[18] 


Jflemorial  ikrtrices; 


MEMORIAL  SERVICES 


At  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago,  memorial  services  were  held 
on  Wednesday  evening,  April  14th,  1909.  Personal  remarks 
were  made  by  Mr.  James  R.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Joseph  A.  Milburn, 
Dr.  Julius  C.  Armstrong,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Nourse  and  Dr.  James 
H.  Stowell.  

Outside  the  home  circle,  many  of  us  find 
our  best  and  most  faithful  friends  within  the 
church.  Here  we  meet  as  members  of  a  family, 
not  only  to  exchange  greetings,  but  to  share 
each  other's  burdens,  to  give  freely  of  our  love 
and  sympathy,  and  to  unite  in  many  kinds  of 
work  for  the  alleviation  of  suffering  and  the 
betterment  of  mankind. 

This  room  in  which  we  have  gathered 
tonight  has  sacred  memories  and  associations. 
As  I  look  back  over  twenty-five  years  I  recall 
many  sweet  and  beautiful  spirits  who  have 
been  associated  with  this  church  who  have 
gone  to  their  rest;  indeed,  there  are  more 
members  of  Plymouth  "over  yonder"  than 
there  are  remaining  with  us  tonight.  It  has 
been  a  privilege  to  know  them,  and  I  am  sure 
we  should  altogether  miss  the  meaning  of  this 
memorial  service  if  we  should  let  sadness  take 
possession  of  our  hearts  while  we  think  of 
our  friend. 

[23] 


I  have  known  Mr.  Cushing  for  many  years, 
but  not  intimately.  To  me  he  has  always 
appeared  serious  minded,  bearing  in  his 
presence  a  reserve  through  which  I  have  been 
able  only  at  times  to  get  glimpses  of  the  man. 
I  therefore  am  not  qualified  to  speak  of  those 
intimate  virtues  which  he  possessed,  and  which 
won  for  him  the  respect  and  love  of  those  who 
knew  him  best.  My  acquaintance  with  him  has 
been  exclusively  in  connection  with  the  work 
and  welfare  of  Plymouth  Church,  whose  loyal 
friend  he  has  been,  as  you  all  know,  for  many 
years.  He  possessed  many  virtues.  I  shall 
speak  of  but  one,  a  homely  one,  not  mentioned 
in  Holy  Scriptures,  nevertheless,  most  admir- 
able— the  virtue  of  consistency.  I  should  call 
him  a  consistent  Christian  gentleman. 

Years  ago  he  made,  with  his  confession  of 
faith,  certain  promises  to  this  church,  and  he 
has  kept  them  faithfully.  Alas !  How  many  of 
us  neglect  them !  If  we  were  so  faithless  in  our 
dealings  with  our  fellowmen,  would  we  not 
lose  their  regard? 

Mr.  Cushing  has  not  only  never  failed  Ply- 
mouth Church  in  times  of  financial  emergency, 
but  he  has  been  a  most  consistent  member  in 
every  way.    He  was  always  in  his  place  on  the 

[24] 


Sabbath  day,  at  the  prayer  service,  coming 

from  a  long  distance,  often  in  most  inclement 

weather,    an    usher    for    many    years,    which 

required  his  presence  at  the  church  at  an  early 

hour,  and  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Sabbath 

School.    Plymouth  was  dear  to  his  heart,  and  I 

wish  to  hold  him  before  you  tonight  as  an 

example  of  a  consistent  churchman.     Death 

has  taken  him  from  our  midst,  but — "We  are 

all  guests  in  God's  great  house,  the  Universe, 

and  death  is  but  His  page  to  show  us  to  the 

chamber  where  we  sleep.     What  though  the 

bed  be  dust,  to  wake  is  sure." 

J.  R.  C. 


Though  I  have  not  known  Mr.  Cushing  as 
long  as  many  of  you  here,  yet  I  should  like  to 
add  my  tribute  to  one  so  faithful  and  so  true. 
Often  have  I  sat  beside  him  in  the  prayer 
meeting,  and  always  found  him  cheerful,  kind 
and  courteous.  I  have  listened  to  his  earnest 
prayers  and  felt  their  sincerity.  I  have  sung 
from  the  same  hymn  book,  and  always  knew  I 
would  hear  a  pleasant  word,  and  not  one  of 
complaint,  when  the  service  was  over. 

One  day  soon  after  I  came  here,  Mr. 
Cushing  told  me  of  a  friend  on  the  North  Side 

[25] 


who  wished  to  see  me.    "Go  soon,"  he  said,  "we 

may  not  have  her  with  us  long."    She  is  still 

here,  though  nearly  ninety  years  old,  and  often 

I  thank  him  for  telling  me  of  her  wish  to 

see  me. 

In  social,  in  family,  and  in  church  life,  I 

found  Mr.  Cushing  always  thoughtful,  earnest, 

kind  and  courteous.     We  shall  all  miss  him, 

and  especially  in  these  rooms. 

L.  McD.  M. 


In  the  death  of  Mr.  Edward  Theodore 
Cushing  we  have  lost  a  true  and  helpful  friend 
and  brother. 

I  shall  always  prize  his  kindness  and 
thoughtfulness  for  me  personally.  His  friend- 
ship was  most  precious.  I  recall  with  profound 
thankfulness  our  delightful  interviews  as  we 
took  our  noonday  luncheons  together  and  con- 
ferred over  the  interests  of  the  Kingdom  which 
we  were  toiling  to  advance. 

His  death  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  is  a 
great  loss  to  all  our  benevolent  work.  He 
became  a  director  of  our  Chicago  City  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  1895  and  served  continually 
until  ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  in  1907. 
He  served  with  great  faithfulness  on  the  most 

[26] 


important  committees,  and  was  the  society's 
efficient  president  for  two  years.  The  society's 
treasury  was  enriched,  by  his  generous  dona- 
tions in  property  and  cash,  $21,950.00.  The 
society,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent  and  most 
devoted  member,  and  the  dependent  churches 
under  the  society's  care,  owe  him  a  lasting  debt 
of  gratitude. 

Nor  did  he  confine  his  benefactions  to  one 
worthy  cause.  He  was  a  director  for  two 
years,  and  until  his  death  the  president,  of  the 
Ministerial  Relief  Association  of  Illinois,  a 
society  whose  object  it  is  to  care  for  indigent 
ministers  and  the  needy  families  of  those  whose 
death  has  left  them  dependent. 

He  was  interested  also  in  the  National  Mis- 
sionary cause  of  our  denomination.  All  of 
these  organizations  had  a  place  in  his  large- 
hearted  benefactions.  Others  will  speak  of  his 
great  usefulness  to  his  home  church,  of  which 
he  was  an  exceedingly  important  and  able 
office  bearer. 

May  his  mantle  fall  speedily  upon  other 
shoulders,  that  the  causes  that  he  loved  may 
not  suffer,  and  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  may 
prevail  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

J.  C.  A. 

[27] 


I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  add  my  tribute  of 
love  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  E.  T.  Gushing,  who 
has  always  been  such  a  bright  example  of  a 
true  Christian.  He  was  noble,  generous  and 
true.  Full  of  zeal  for  the  Master.  His  bright 
example  has  ever  been  an  inspiration  to  me. 

We  are  missing  him  in  every  department 
of  Plymouth  Church.  But  though  the  clouds 
may  sometimes  hover  over  us,  as  a  church,  we 
shall  always  feel  the  sunshine  of  his  smile. 

_____  Mrs.  B.  F.  N. 

Edward  Theodore  Cushing  belonged  to 
the  type  of  Christian  of  the  generation  now 
passing,  strong  in  his  convictions  of  right  and 
wrong,  consistent  in  his  life,  and  faithful  in  his 
devotion  to  home  and  church. 

I  have  known  Mr.  Cushing  about  thirty 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  loyal  guards  of 
Plymouth  Church,  and  a  few  days  before  his 
final  leave-taking,  as  he  held  my  hands,  he 
spoke  feelingly  of  his  love  for  the  church  and 
her  people;  and  he  deeply  appreciated  the 
many  expressions  of  love  sent  him  from 
members  of  Plymouth. 

We  who  met  him  so  often  in  the  councils 
of  the  church  know  with  what  fidelity  he  lived 


[28] 


up  to  his  convictions  and  his  ideal  of  a 
Christian.  We  know  how  he  went  about  doing 
good,  weekly  visiting  the  aged,  the  sick  and 
needy  ones  in  and  out  of  the  church.  We  know 
with  what  a  lavish  hand  he  gave  to  every  good 
cause.  His  lamp  was  always  trimmed  and 
burning,  never  without  oil.  He  was  faithful  to 
the  end. 

We  of  Plymouth  Church  who  knew  and 
loved  Mr.  Cushing  must  take  up  the  work 
where  he,  at  the  Master's  bidding,  laid  it  down, 
and  with  a  like  spirit  of  devotion  and  earnest- 
ness carry  it  forward,  knowing  that  in  due  time 
we  shall  enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord. 

J.  H.  S. 


[29] 


devolutions!  of  Conoolence 


ARCHITECTURAL   IRON   LEAGUE 

3fa  jHemortam 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  Divine  Ruler 
of  the  Universe  to  take  from  our  midst  our 
well  beloved  fellow  member  and  friend,  Mr. 
Edward  T.  Cushing,  on  Tuesday,  April  the 
sixth; 

Therefore,  Be  It  Resolved,  That  the 
members  of  the  Architectural  Iron  League  at 
a  special  meeting  held  April  eighth,  nineteen 
hundred  and  nine,  take  this  opportunity  to 
express  their  deep  sympathy  to  his  family  in 
their  great  bereavement,  and  to  show  their 
high  affection  and  respect  for  his  sterling 
character;   and  it  is  further 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution 
be  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  Architectural 
Iron  League,  and  a  copy  also  be  engrossed  and 
sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

A.  E.  COLEMAN, 
LOUIS  VIERLING,  President. 

Secretary. 


[33] 


THE  CONGREGATIONAL  CLUB  OF  CHICAGO 

I  have  the  honor  to  advise  you  that  the 
following  memorial  was  unanimously  adopted 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Congregational 
Club  held  April  19,  1909: 

It  is  proper  the  Chicago  Congregational 
Club  should  record  its  loss  in  the  passing  of 
another  and  earnest  member,  Edward  Theo- 
dore Cushing. 

Born  in  Chicago  in  1845,  of  parents  whose 
strong  religious  convictions  moulded  his  early 
life,  strengthened  his  youth,  and  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  mature  man,  whose  earnest, 
straightforward,  positive  Christian  character 
we  all  admired,  Mr.  Cushing  belonged  to  that 
class  of  Christians  now  passing.  He  was 
strong  in  his  convictions  of  right  and  wrong, 
beautifully  consistent  in  his  life,  and  faithful  in 
his  devotion  to  home  and  church.  He  visited 
the  poor  and  needy,  the  sick  and  sorrowing 
ones,  and  ministered  to  their  wants.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
City  Missionary  Society,  and  for  two  years  its 
president.  He  gave  to  the  society,  during  his 
connection  with  it,  $25,000.00.  He  was 
president   of   the    Illinois    Ministerial    Relief 

[34] 


Association  at  the  time  of  his  death.  For 
fifty-one  years  he  was  a  member  of  Plymouth 
Church,  and  for  many  years  one  of  its  deacons, 
and  always  a  generous  contributor. 

His  lamp  was  always  trimmed  and  burning, 
never  without  oil,  and  when  the  Master  called, 
he  was  ready,  "faithful  unto  the  end." 

A.  F.  ALLEN, 

Secretary. 


THE  MINISTERIAL  RELIEF  ASSOCIATION 

Resolved,  That  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Edward  Theodore  Gushing,  the  Ministerial 
Relief  Association  of  Illinois  has  lost  a  very 
devoted  and  helpful  president  and  director. 
The  care  of  the  aged  and  crippled  ministers  and 
their  destitute  families  found  a  warm  advocate 
and  true  friend  in  our  departed  brother.  He 
was  always  ready  to  do  anything  in  his  power 
to  alleviate  the  sufferings  and  provide  for  the 
wants  of  the  veterans  in  the  ministry,  whose 
labors  in  small  out-of-the-way  parishes  had 
brought  such  meager  support  that  nothing 
could  be  laid  aside  for  old  age  or  a  "rainy  day." 

His  death  is  a  serious  loss  to  all  our  denomi- 
national interests.  We  shall  miss  him  in  our 
conferences  as  we  meet  to  plan  for  those  who 
are  dependent  upon  this  society  for  a  part  of 
their  living  expenses,  and  we  shall  miss  him  as 
we  gather  to  help  other  benevolent  causes. 

We  hereby  tender  to  his  afflicted  wife  and 

daughter  our  sincere  sympathy.    We  commend 

them  to  the  care  of  our  covenant  keeping  God 

whose    love    and    mercy    extend    to    all    His 

children. 

HENRY  M.  WALKER, 

Secretary. 

[36] 


STOCK  YARDS  DAY  NURSERY  ASSOCIATION 

Mrs.  E.  T.  Cushing: 

Dear  Friend:  At  a  meeting  of  the  Stock 
Yards  Day  Nursery  Association,  held  Friday, 
May  7th,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

Whereas,  God  in  His  wisdom  has  called 
our  beloved  patron  and  associate  member,  Mr. 
E.  T.  Cushing,  to  enter  the  higher  life,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  his  being  taken  from 
our  midst,  this  association  has  lost  one  of  its 
earliest  and  most  earnest  supporters. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  his  wife 
and  daughter  our  most  earnest  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  this  time  of  great  sorrow  and 
bereavement,  and  may  our  Heavenly  Father 
comfort  and  sustain  them. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  placed 
on  file  and  a  copy  sent  to  his  family. 
Very  respectfully, 

FRANCES  D.  KELLOGG, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


[37] 


Hetterg  of  Conbolence 


LADIES'  AID  SOCIETY  OF  PLYMOUTH 
CHURCH 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Cushing: 

It  has  only  been  a  few  days  since  I  wrote  a 
little  note  of  cheer  and  comfort  to  Mr.  Cushing, 
and  we  had  so  hoped  he  might  be  given  back  to 
us  again  in  his  health,  but  God  in  His  own  way 
has  taken  him  away. 

The  ladies  of  the  Aid  Society  wish  again  to 
express  their  deep  love  and  sympathy  to  you. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Cushing,  I  wish  that  I  might  say 
some  little  word  to  lessen  the  burden  you  bear. 
All  I  can  do  is  to  let  you  know  we  are  thinking 
of  you,  and  would  love  to  help  you. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  a  dear  friend  to  us  all  and 
it  has  made  us  all  better  to  have  known  him 
and  his  quiet,  pleasing  way. 

Again  believe  us, 

Most  sincere  friends, 

CORA  B.  CUBBINS, 

Secretary. 


[41] 


THE  KENWOOD  CLUB 

Dear  Mrs.  Cushing: 

I  have  been  authorized  by  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Kenwood  Club  to  convey  in 
their  behalf  expression  of  their  deep  regret  and 
sincere  sympathy  in  the  death  of  your  husband, 
one  of  the  club's  highly  esteemed  and  oldest 
members.  My  personal  participation  in  this 
message  you  already  are  aware  of.  I  have 
myself  in  late  years  repeatedly  felt  the  benefit 
of  association  with  his  strong  and  rugged 
character,  and  was  probably  better  acquainted 
than  most  people  with  the  great  kindness  of 
heart  which  was  one  of  his  conspicuous 
attributes.  His  nobility  of  character  was 
beyond  question.  The  loss  of  such  a  man 
cannot  be  confined  to  local  circles,  being,  on 
the  other  hand,  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of 
his  wide  acquaintanceship.  He  has  left  behind 
him  a  good  name  and  good  works,  which 
nothing  can  efface. 

Respectfully  and  most  sincerely, 

ROBERT  McDOUGAL, 

President. 


[42] 


pergonal  Eemmfecenceg 


I. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  my  Cousin 
Edward  was  in  the  winter  of  1854.  He  was 
then  nine  years  of  age.  The  chief  character- 
istics in  his  makeup  at  that  time  were  substan- 
tially the  same  as  in  the  later  years  of  his  life. 
Loyalty  to  his  friends  was  perhaps  his  leading 
trait,  and  he  always  had  the  courage  of  his 
convictions ;  money,  favors,  never  could  swerve 
him  a  jot  from  his  idea  of  a  principle.  He  was 
faithful  in  the  most  minute  detail  to  any  trust 
imposed  upon  him,  onerous  as  it  might  be. 

His  first  experience  in  business  was 
unusually  severe,  and  although  but  a  child  in 
years  at  the  time,  he  was  true  and  manly,  and 
showed  the  kind  of  mettle  calculated  to  make 
him  win  his  way  in  the  world. 

In  his  youth  he  was  generous  to  a  fault,  and 
when  he  grew  to  manhood  the  tender  devotion 
and  affection  shown  in  the  care  of  his  mother 
was  most  touching.  During  all  the  ten  years 
she  was  with  us  he  never  failed  to  write  her 
twice  each  week. 

I  was  so  closely  associated  with  him  that  I 
have  often  remarked  that  he  was  more  like  a 
brother  than  a  cousin,  and  I  loved  him  for  his 
many  ennobling  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 

CHARLES  S.  CUSHING. 

[47] 


II. 

I  made  Mr.  Cushing's  acquaintance  in  Ply- 
mouth Church  and  Sunday  School  when  he 
was  a  lad  of  fourteen. 

Within  the  next  three  or  four  years  I  was 
an  inmate  of  his  father's  family  for  six  months. 
The  friendship  then  formed  has  continued 
unbroken  through  the  years — and  in  looking 
back  over  them,  I  realize  how  truly  in  his  case 
the  boy  was  father  to  the  man. 

As  was  said  at  his  funeral,  "People  always 
knew  where  to  find  Mr.  Cushing."  That  was 
true  of  him  in  manhood,  and  just  as  true  in 
boyhood  and  youth.  After  he  was  old  enough 
to  make  up  his  mind  what  was  right  and 
wrong — what  he  believed  to  be  right,  that  he 
adhered  to,  no  matter  what  others  might 
think. 

My  first  clear  memory  of  him  was  in 
Sunday  School,  where  as  assistant  librarian  he 
was  always  at  his  post,  painstaking  and 
obliging. 

Uniting  with  the  church  young,  he  seemed 
to  realize  more  than  some  do,  that  it  meant  not 
only  privilege — but  duty  and  obligation  as  well. 
He  was  not  there  to  be  carried  along. 

[48] 


A  regular  attendant  upon  church  and 
prayer  meeting,  the  habit  thus  formed  lasted 
through  life. 

It  was  not  only  a  duty  but  a  pleasure  for 
him  to  give  of  his  income  to  every  good  cause, 
so  far  as  he  could. 

It  was  not  very  long  after  he  went  to  work 
for  himself,  and  while  his  salary  was  but  six 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  that  a  meeting  was 
called  to  raise  money  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot 
for  a  new  church  building.  After  several 
had  spoken  and  made  their  pledges,  he  very 
modestly  said,  "I  will  give  fifty  dollars."  I 
never  shall  forget  the  look  on  his  father's  face 
as  he  said,  "I  was  so  glad  to  hear  Edward  say 
what  he  did  in  that  meeting."  He  felt,  as  we 
all  did,  that  it  was  a  good  deal  for  him  to  give, 
as  he  was  already  a  contributor  to  the  various 
benevolences  of  the  church. 

Then  in  the  home  his  filial  and  fraternal 
love  was  strong  and  true,  and  his  memory  of 
his  dead  mother  an  abiding  influence.  He  said 
to  me  once,  with  regard  to  a  certain  amuse- 
ment, "I  wonder  if  my  mother  could  speak 
to  me  from  Heaven,  what  she  would  say  about 
it."  That  thought  kept  him  upon  the  safe  side 
of  the  question. 

[49] 


His  sister  once  told  me  of  the  indignation, 
as  he  told  her  of  a  neighbor's  son  who  had 
asked  him  to  join  him  in  an  excursion  through 
some  of  the  dark  places  of  this  city,  that  they 
might  see  for  themselves  its  wickedness.  I  can 
imagine  the  fine  scorn  with  which  the  proposal 
was  rejected,  though  I  have  forgotten  the 
words  in  which  it  was  expressed. 

His  love  for  children  was  always  marked.  I 
remember  his  bringing  his  little  year-old  niece 
three  miles  in  a  slow  going  horse  car  to  give 
her  an  outing.  I  wondered  how  many  young 
men  of  his  age  would  have  taken  the  time  and 
risked  the  chance  of  her  getting  frightened  and 
crying.  I  said  something  of  the  kind,  and  he 
smiled,  and  said,  he  didn't  think  she  would  cry, 
but  if  she  did,  he  thought  other  people  could 
stand  it  if  he  and  the  baby  could. 

What  a  true  and  loyal  friend  he  always  was. 
How  kind  and  helpful  if  one  was  in  trouble,  and 
so  sure  to  help  in  the  best  way  many  of  us 
knew  —  and  I  believe  that  he  finds  true 
Heaven's  beatitude, 

"The  old  delight  of  doing  good." 

E.  V.  R. 


[50] 


jf  rom  tfje  $res& 


THE  ADVANCE,  CHICAGO 
Mr.  Edward  Theodore  Cushing  died  at  his 
residence  on  the  South  Side  of  Chicago  on 
Tuesday,  April  6,  after  an  illness  of  two 
months.  Mr.  Cushing  was  born  in  the  heart 
of  the  older  part  of  Chicago  in  1845.  He 
became  a  Christian  early  in  life  and  has  been  a 
power  for  good  in  all  the  movements  of  our 
Congregational  fellowship  for  more  than  two 
score  years.  He  was  a  member  of  Plymouth 
Church,  a  deacon  and  chairman  of  its  Board  of 
Trustees.  For  more  than  a  score  of  years  he 
was  an  honored  and  very  valuable  director  of 
the  Chicago  City  Missionary  Society,  and  for 
two  years  its  president.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  the  president  of  the  Illinois 
Ministerial  Relief  Association.  To  both  of 
these  organizations  he  rendered  by  his  counsel 
and  generous  gifts  exceedingly  valuable  help. 
He  was  interested  in  all  the  larger  activities  of 
our  denomination.  Mr.  Cushing's  name  was  a 
synonym  for  upright  and  honorable  dealing  in 
his  business.  It  can  be  said  of  him  as  was  said 
of  his  great  Master,  "He  went  about  doing 
good."  His  death  takes  out  of  our  Congrega- 
tional circles  an  exceedingly  useful  and  devoted 
Christian  layman.  He  leaves  a  widow  and 
daughter  to  mourn  his  death. 

[55] 


THE  CHICAGO  TRIBUNE 

Edward  Theodore  Cushing,  63  years  old, 
died  at  his  residence,  4820  Greenwood  Avenue, 
Tuesday,  after  an  illness  of  two  months.  He 
was  born  in  1845  on  the  corner  of  Wabash 
Avenue  and  Adams  Street  in  the  house  at  that 
time  owned  and  occupied  by  his  father,  and  has 
resided  in  Chicago  all  his  life.  His  home  in 
Kenwood  he  built  in  1884,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  His  father's  family  came  from  Thet- 
ford,  Vermont,  and  his  mother's  family  from 
Hebron,  Conn. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  a  deacon  in  the  Plymouth 
Congregational  Church  and  an  active  worker 
in  the  Chicago  City  Missionary  Society.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Union  League  and 
Kenwood  Clubs. 

Mr.  Cushing  had  been  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Dearborn  Foundry  Company 
since  its  incorporation,  in  1883. 

He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  one 
daughter. 

Funeral  services  will  be  held  at  his  late 
residence,  4820  Greenwood  Avenue,  Friday 
afternoon  at  two  o'clock.  Interment  will  be  at 
Oakwoods. 


[56] 


Manz  Engraving  Company 

<Ebe  feollister  £irese 
Chicago 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


B.C9843E  C001 

EDWARD  THEODORE  CUSHING  S.L 


3  0112  025405538 


